Not so long ago, back in the 1990s or so, nobody really worried about what might happen if pharmaceutical drugs got released into the environment. In fact, we were advised to get rid of our unused drugs by flushing them down the toilet. What happened after that nobody really seemed to care about. If anything, it was assumed that the wastewater treatment processes would destroy them.
Since those days, our analytical instrumentation has gotten better and better, and now we can detect compounds at part per trillion, or even lower, levels. And guess what? We’re finding all sorts of pharmaceuticals and other so-called personal care products, such as cosmetics or fragrances, in rivers, streams, and even groundwater. [As a group they’re referred to as PPCPs.] Many of these compounds are not removed by wastewater treatment. The concentrations in the environment are extremely low, but still it was a surprise to find all these compounds in the environment. Some researchers realized that some of these compounds, such as caffeine, could be used as markers and tracers of human contamination. And then people began wondering what effect these compounds might be having on organisms.
Even at such low concentrations, some of these compounds, especially estrogenic compounds, can have deleterious effects of aquatic biota. Feminization of fish has been observed in some places. Another concern is that bacteria might develop resistance to antibiotics. Drug resistance, of course, is a major concern in hospitals; it’s uncertain what environment resistance might mean.
[figure from here]
As far as human health is concerned, it seems that we shouldn’t be worried. After all, the concentrations we may be ingesting are much, much lower than therapeutic doses. A recent article concluded that most PPCPs are not a serious human health risk. Still, most scientists say more research is needed, especially on the potential synergistic effects of multiple pharmaceuticals.
Mae Wu and Sarah Janssen of the Natural Resources Defense Council recently wrote an article outlining the problem of pharmaceuticals in drinking water, identifying five main target areas where steps can be taken to reduce risks: drug design, approval, production, use, and discharge. There are many good reasons to limit our use of PPCPs.
